EXPERIMENTAL STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF SMALL CORN HARVESTERS ON LODGED CORN IN HILLY AREAS

Abstract

In the harvest of lodged corn in hilly areas, the low position of corn ears and the large slope of the land caused severe losses. The comprehensive performance of loss reduction and terrain adaptability was studied on three small corn harvesters. The tested harvesters were 4-row 4YZP-4Y wheeled harvester, 2-row 4YZLP-2C crawler harvester and 2-row 4YZLP-2C-AF crawler harvester equipped with spiral lifers. The results showed that the all-speed corn ear loss and grain loss of the 4YZP-4Y harvester were 55.6% and 57.6% lower than those of the 4YZLP-2C harvester, while those of the 4YZLP-2C-AF harvester was 23.2% and 17.3%, lower than in the case of the 4YZLP-2C harvester. The all-height corn ear loss and grain loss of the 4YZP-4Y harvester were 35.2% and 56.6% lower than those of the 4YZLP-2C harvester, those of the 4YZLP-2C-AF harvester were 19.9% and 24.9% lower than in the case of the 4YZLP-2C harvester. The smaller header width and larger roller compacted area of the 4YZLP-2C harvester were the main factors that caused harvest loss. Wider harvester header, auxiliary feeding devices and smaller roller compacted area were key methods to reduce the harvest loss of lodged corn in hilly areas. This study provides technical scheme and design references for harvesters on lodged corn in hilly areas.